- Santi di Tito
Santi di Tito (1536 - 1602 or 1603) was an Italian painter of Late-Mannerist or proto-
Baroque style, what is sometimes referred to asContra-Maniera .Biography
Born in
Borgo San Sepolcro , inTuscany . There is little documentation to support the alleged training underBronzino orBaccio Bandinelli . From 1558-1564, he worked in Rome onfresco es inPalazzo Salviati and the Sala Grande of the Belvedere ("Homage of the People") alongsideGiovanni de' Vecchi andNiccolò Circignani . He acquired a classical trait, described as "Raphaelesque" by S.J. Freedburg. This style contrasted with the reigning ornate Roman painterliness of the Federico andTaddeo Zuccari or their Florentine equivalents:Vasari ,Alessandro Allori , andBronzino . Among his pupils wasCigoli . Another pupil namedFrancesco Mochi became a sculptor in theBaroque style, creating among other pieces, the colossal "Saint Veronica ', "supervised byGianlorenzo Bernini and placed in the crossing ofSt. Peter's Basilica inRome ." [ Wittkower, Rudolf (1999) "Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750" Yale Univ. Press.]After returning to Florence in 1564, He joined the
Accademia del Disegno , and he did not venture to paint outside of Tuscany. He contributed two unusual paintings for the Duke's study and laboratory, theStudiolo of Francesco I in thePalazzo Vecchio . This artistic project was partly overseen byGiorgio Vasari . These paintings are (the "Sisters of Fetonte" [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785] and "Hercules and Iole" [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785] ). These works, like many of those in the studiolo are crowded and overworked.He contributed a "Sacra Conversazione" for the Ognissanti and painted two altarpieces for Santa Croce in Florence: a crowded, but monumental "Resurrection" (1570-74) and a proto-Caravaggesque "Supper at Emmaus" (1574).
He returned to
Florence to finished a picture ofSogliani's for S. Domenico, inFiesole ; also that he painted in the Belvedere of the Vatican, and on thecatafalque ofMichelangelo . He painted a "Resurrection of Lazarus" for the cathedral ofVolterra ; a "Madonna" for San Salvatore,Florence ; a "Burial of Christ" for S. Giuseppe; a "Baptism of Christ by St John" for the Corsini palace,Florence ; and as well as portraits in the Uffizi. Santi died inFlorence , July 23, 1603 [*cite book| first=Michael| last=Bryan| year=1889| title="Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical" (Volume II: L-Z)| editor = Walter Armstrong & Robert Edmund Graves| pages= page 179| publisher=George Bell and Sons|location=York St. #4, Covent Garden, London; Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18, 2007 |id= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=K2cCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Michael+Bryan+Painters+Engravers#PPP7,M1| authorlink=] .His masterpiece, and reflective of his mature style, is of the "Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinas", also known as "Saint Thomas Dedicating His Works to Christ". It expresses a simple pious gesture that appeared to have been lost from the theoretically-minded Florentine painters since the days of
Masaccio , while maintaining the brittle, demarcated color that is classic of Tuscan works. The off-balance of the figures emphasize a diagonal rise towards the crucified Christ. It is a prescient style that will be more evident in following decades with the ascendant Bolognese School of painting, epitomized by the Agostino andLudovico Carracci .Partial anthology of works
Paintings
*"Resurrection of Lazarus" (1576) -
Santa Maria Novella , Florence
*"Sacred Conversation"
*"Annunciation" (1576) -Santa Maria Novella , Florence
*"Sisters of Phaeton" (1572) -Studiolo of Francesco I ,Palazzo Vecchio , Florence [http://www.thais.it/citta_italiane/firenze/index/palazzo_della_signoria/hi_res/00003.htm]
*"Hercules and Iole" (1572) -Studiolo of Francesco I ,Palazzo Vecchio , Florence [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785]
*"Pietà with Saints and Military Officer" -Galleria degli Uffizi , Florence
*"Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist" [http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424225038/santi-di-tito-holy-family-with-saints-elizabeth-and-john-the-baptist.html]
*"Doubting Thomas" (1583) - Duomo,Borgo San Sepolcro
*"Crucifixion" (1588= - Santa Croce, Florence
*"Marriage at Cana" (1593) - Villa Chierichetti, Colazzo
*"Vision of Saint Thomas Acquinas" (1593) - San Marco, Florence [http://witcombe.sbc.edu/baroquetheory/style3.html]
*"Supper at Emmaus" (1588) -Santa Croce [http://www.mega.it/min/scroce/xuq.jpg]
*"Annunciation" (1602) - Santa Maria Novella
*"Four ages of Woman and the Written Law" - Musee Fesch,Ajaccio [http://www.musee-fesch.com/html/collection_permanente/collection/english/central_northern_italy.html]Architecture
*Villa Doccia, near
Fiesole
*Villa dei Collazzi, inGiogoli References
*cite book | first= Sydney J.| last= Freedberg| year=1993| title= Pelican History of Art| chapter= Painting in Italy, 1500-1600| editor= | others= | pages=620-625 |Penguin Books Ltd| publisher= | id= | url= | authorlink=
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